IDEAS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACTIVITIES IN THE SCHOOLS

Teachers are great sources of ideas for learning activities that provide experience in entrepreneurial skills...and often they don't even know they are doing so. Any teacher in the secondary schools can help students understand the opportunities of our entrepreneurial economy by infusing entrepreneurship-related activities in their regular course of study. Such experiences may change the vision of their future for many of our youth.

Be sure that your activities encourage students to think creatively...not just to determine how business operates now. Help them to ask questions about how businesses might be created in new and better ways, using new and different processes. Open their eyes to the entrepreneurial opportunities that are all around us.

Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship

(The following suggestions were contributed by teachers in a brainstorming activity. You might try this with a staff of teachers in your school...dividing them up into discipline small groups and encouraging creative thinking. Then take the best ideas and implement them in the classroom).

Social Studies and Entrepreneurship

• Students set up a Small Town USA program in which they determine what types of business are needed.
• Unit on "Workplace Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow", bring in pictures and describe, talk to parents and/or grandparents. Expand on "Workplace Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" and note changes in technology, communications, transportation, and skills needed. Identify the cost of products in 1900 versus cost of products in the year 2000. Explain how wages are also part of the price. Discuss a business that reflects products from time past which are still able to be sold and how to market such products.
• Map out a voyage, the ship is destroyed by a storm, and all survive on an island. What are the needs and possible results? Set up a government on the island and put together a plan for obtaining food, clothing etc. Decide who will be in charge of the various jobs on the island. Hold elections. Identify how products will be created and exchanged by the inhabitants.
• Take a field trip to see the movie "Titanic" and discuss the reasons it has been a market success.

Science and Entrepreneurship

• In food science experiment with product development: Study the effect of heat/temperature on yeast products. Dissolve yeast for bread in three different temperatures. Make the bread and describe the results.
• Choose an important nutritional concept. Develop an advertising plan to sell the idea. Develop a product line of nutritional snacks and decide how to sell them. Establish and name a company that will market the nutritional snacks. Organize the company. Identify positions and careers possible.
• Students locate food ads in a magazine, mount them on index cards, and evaluate their nutritional content. Make a bulletin board display. Discuss the role of advertising in promoting nutrition.
• Do bacterial tests around school. Collect data and generate a report. Sell anti-bacterial soap or wipes for students to use before lunch, etc.
• Collect flowers and plants to study.

Arts/Performing Arts and Entrepreneurship

• Identify entrepreneurial skills for individuals who choose the arts, such as musicians, writers, artists etc.
• Create a business selling/marketing "Practice Partners" for students proficient in some musical instrument who will serve as practice partners, giving guidance and assistance for students who are preparing for music lessons.
• Students create a "jingle" for an art show for use in a TV or radio advertisement.
• Create attractive flyers, posters or web pages for a musical event in your community.
• Use the computer art class to develop an ad that is attractively arranged. Develop a logo that would be interesting, attractive etc.
• Develop a logo for the school baseball team to promote this season's games.
• Develop Web Page designs for fellow students who are trying to set up their own page, incorporate logo, music sound wave, etc.
• Create school postcards - students photograph various school scenes/activities, and market the postcards within school and community.
• Music classes work with history and art classes to promote a product.

Math and Entrepreneurship

• Analyze pros and cons of a business location, charting/graphing traffic flow and interpreting it.
• Develop a survey of the market to sell a product.
• Use spread sheets (Excel) to project operating costs of a business
• Examine business space requirements according to equipment and inventory needs, and draw up a plan.
• Calculate cost per square foot of a given business plan.
• Reconcile a checking account balance for a business.
• Analyze recurrent expenditures and forecast annual costs
• Discuss how competition may affect the price of goods.
• Calculate costs of taking business into global markets.
• Project future profits given expansion data.
• Track stock market for 6 months. Project profits over next 2 months. (Percents plus dollar amounts)

Language Arts and Entrepreneurship

• Plan selling and marketing of a given book. Discuss what should be included in the book to make it marketable. Analyze the effects of supply, demand, profit, and competition on small business. Visit local book stores to observe and analyze their marketing techniques. Develop a plan to sell the book. Write ads to promote the book.
• Write a business plan
• Have students survey the student body on topics of interest for a book club (survey on hobbies/interests). Then open the book club, selling books of the most interest. Develop a PowerPoint presentation to sell your business to potential stock holders.
• Have each student write a career plan with values and goals. How does that plan lead to being an entrepreneur?
• Discuss how to sell an ad for the school newspaper.
• Have students research a business or industry and write informational news release for the school newspaper. Use the research for a term paper.

SOURCE: ENTREPRE NEWS & VIEWS

The author of this article is Asst. Professor, Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies, Indore